Why read the Harry Potter books

[Aromaanne]

Following all the hype about the last Harry Potter book, am I really missing something?They all look tremendously long but I can be persuaded to start them if I am really missing something so important. Are they suitable for mature(geriatric) readers?Tell me what I am missing purleese!!!!!!!

[garinda]

I love reading, and read the first one out loud to my godson, but they do nothing for me.

I have lots of friends (adult) who love them though.

[Royboy39]

Originally Posted by Aromaanne

Following all the hype about the last Harry Potter book, am I really missing something?They all look tremendously long but I can be persuaded to start them if I am really missing something so important. Are they suitable for mature(geriatric) readers?Tell me what I am missing purleese!!!!!!!

Wait while Willow comes on line..........she will explain...in detail

[Margaret Pilkington]

I don't like them either. I find then tedious and not at all entertaining,I guess I fit into the geriatric category.
All this hype from the media makes you think they are the Bible or something....the only thing good about them is that they get youngsters away from the TV/computers and get them reading

[MargaretR]

I haven't read them myself but my son has and has said he was disappointed.
They are aimed at children after all - if you are used to 'heavier' reading you might feel that you are being 'condescended to'. (like being told what to do by teacher) I dont think they will become classics , like The Children of The New Forest, which I still remember from my childhood -stirred my 1st interest in history. The good result is that more children have discovered the joys of reading which is a great achievement.

[Tin Monkey]

I have no interest in them at all. Read the first chapter of the first book and thought it was simplistically written, which you would expect for a book aimed at a young audience. I found the writing style annoying, to be honest.

I know this will make me sound like some sort of literary snob, but I don't mean it to be like that. Books can be consumed in the same way that any other media is consumed and audiences will get out of it whatever they want to. If a reader is looking for simple escapism, then maybe the Harry Potter books will fulfil that desire?

[Tin Monkey]

Originally Posted by [email protected]

The good result is that more children have discovered the joys of reading which is a great achievement.

I couldn't agree more.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Like you Tin Monkey, the writing style irritated me. I prefer Terry Pratchett for escapism of this nature.

[flashy]

i read them because they are an adventure simple as that

[shillelagh]

I never read any of the harry potter books until my sister asked me if i'd read them (shes older than me by the way by 15 years) and i said no id never bothered with them. She said theyre good - and bought me all 4 (as it was then) for my birthday that was a couple of weeks later. I will be going and buying the last one - but probably not till tuesday seeing as not well and been in bed near enough all day today waiting for the bruising to go down first. I like the first 4, didnt like the 5th and 6th ones the same as the first 4.

[Mr Aleks]

I dont bother with kiddie stories anymore and would certainly not stand outside a shop for a few days to get it. People really need to take a step back and see that it is only a book and its not life threatening not to be the first to get it.

[flashy]

no aleks but i bet your one of these people who likes spiderman.....erm wasnt that a 'kiddie story' to begin with????

[WillowTheWhisp]

I read the first one before there was any hoohah about them. (I often do that. I enthused like mad about a book I'd read once about a killer shark and people thought I was nuts until the film came out and then they remembered the book I'd praised so much by the title of "Jaws") However, I digress.

The first Harry Potter book was offered in a book club which my girls were members of and I was curious when it offered an alternative adult version cover. I read it initially to check if it was suitable reading matter (in my opinion) for the girls as some of the stuff in that club seemed to be a bit too adult in content although aimed at children. To my surprise I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommended it to the girls. We ended up reading it together as a family thing. We do lots of things together as a family and reading a book and discussing it is one of the things we do.

We all looked forward to getting the next book to follow the story. This was still before it had really become such a phenomenon. I found that friends who had children of the same age had also discovered the stories and even their older teenagers and young adults were equally as captivated.

As each book has been released we have looked forward to it and it has become a regular thing to read together as a family, so where we are concerned the media hype came along much later. There are other books which the girls enjoy and which I am not the slightest bit interested in and there are books which I enjoy which do not appeal to them. Most of my reading matter is a lot deeper and more thought provoking, the majority is non-fiction but I do also enjoy a darned good story and something which leaves you wanting to know more and gets you involved with the characters.

Perhaps we have become more involved by discussing the storylines and theorising about what could happen next and why in much the same way as one tries to work out who did it in a whodunnit. They have become a summer tradition with us as the girls and I have spent summer evenings in the caravan reading and discussing them over the past few years. This year not only brings the last Harry Potter novel but is also probably the last year that Mimi will be coming on long caravan holidays so it's rather appropriate timing for us.

Some people love the stories and some find them incredibly boring. We love them and part of the fun as a family was the girls queuing up for their copy of the latest installment. In a way it's similar to the Saturday Morning Cinema Club where they had Flash Gordon poised on the brink of death at the end of the episode to make you come back the next week to find out what happens even though you know he will survive. The difference with these Harry Potter stories is that J.K.Rowling is not afraid to kill off her characters and I think that gets youngsters even more involved as they don't want their favourites to come to any harm. Life is like that though - people do get hurt and people do die so she doesn't sugar coat her novels just because they are fiction.

If you're looking for Shakespeare or Ernest Hemingway I wouldn't recommend Harry Potter books but if you have a vivid imagination, enjoy a jolly good storyline with the odd twist, wicked baddies and heroic goodies, the underdog struggling against the odds (a la Cinderella) with a smattering of magic and mythical beasties then they are great fun and you'll probably enjoy them.

Don't rely on the films as a substitute for reading the books as there's a lot missed out in the films which is unavoidable or they would last far too long.

[Lilly]

I've never actually read any of the books or seen the films myself as they are not my cup of tea but my husband and son love them.As has been said before,they are marvellous stories for children to get into.They get their imaginations going and,being an avid reader myself,I love to see my children getting excited about books.

[Margaret Pilkington]

I love reading and get through 3 books a week...I also have a very vivid imagination....but somehow these just don't cut it for me...Yet I like Terry Pratchett.
I have tried reading them more than once to see if i was missing something, but they just don't float my boat. Hey ho,it wouldn't do for us all to like the same things would it?